YMS Yard Management Systems

The yard management real-time location system (RTLS) is the right solution for manufacturing facilities and logistics centres that aim to achieve streamlined shipping and have total digital control of all yard activities. Manual shipping and receiving processes can take upto 6 hours to turn around a trailer. This is a real problem since 58% of all yard management efforts utilize manual check in and check out monitoring processes that are cumbersome and error prone.

The RTLS based yard management is different and these solutions leverage active RFID technology in form of a durable and rechargeable tags that are assigned to each trailer and person at the point of entry. Outdoor tag readers that create a mesh positioning network which covers your entire yard and can locate each tag with real accuracy.

YMS Yard management systems software process all data and can be customized to meet the exact needs of your company. Yard managers will be able to monitor yard access, docks and movement in real-time giving them full visibility of every trailer, driver and employee in the yard and allowing them to make quick, correct decisions. Many businesses are automating shipment processes that have conventionally been handled manually. Automation helps businesses streamline the supply chain operations by identifying bottlenecks and enhancing efficiencies. Automated yard management system software help operators to effectively manage trailers and inventories.

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Manual trailer management in yards bring with it a series of challenges. Manual systems cannot provide the accuracy that automated systems can. Also, manual systems were checked on a daily basis unlike the automated systems that update changes on a real time basis. Filling out multiple spreadsheets can be overwhelming and tedious besides being vulnerable to human errors.

Conventional systems lack visibility and managers cannot identify and instantly address issues even in cases of emergency. Smuggling and thefts are another major problem in logistics and conventional systems had enough room for such crimes unlike the modern system that sticks a tracker to every item.

Lack of structured parking rules in the conventional YMS resulted in yard congestion which would eventually lead to a lot of other troubles. Late deliveries increase return rates and reduces the number of loyal customers. Manual methods required a lot of labour hours which is practically impossible to afford in today’s market. This is why companies are moving towards automated yard management. Here is a list of four things to do to get the most of yard management systems

1. Leverage yard management in supply chain to manage inventories

Yard management solutions come with RFID systems that are fed with how an ideal yard condition should be. RFID tracker tags are deployed to every truck, trailer and inventory in the yard. Any deviation from the ideal condition would notify the management immediately and the errors can be fixed on a real-time basis. Also, it is impossible for spotters to open every container in every trailer to check if things are right. RFID trackers can receive signals from the RFID tags even when the containers are sealed. RFID signals travel through metal and water. This kind of analytics and supervision makes inventory management a breeze.

2. Get decision making help from the yard management supply chain

As mentioned earlier, every inventory in the yard carries an RFID tag that has all the information related to the items. This help the spotter identify which inventories to send out first. This prioritization is not possible when done manually as it would take ridiculously longer time for spotters to go through every product label and decide the order.

Yard coordinators can easily track trailer and truck positions, their arrivals and departures across the yard. The systems also increase efficiency by virtue of their ability to quickly locate and assign proper parking spaces to the trailers. Workers don’t have to waste time looking for parkings, and managers don’t have to worry about congestions due to wrong parkings.

3. Deploy yard management in supply chain to prevent losses

Yard management solutions automatically monitor changes in trailer movements, inspections and security seals. This way, the systems help you maintain a real audit trail for security and loss prevention. Trackers are being attached not just to assets but also to ever person that enters the yard. This way, it is easy to prevent thefts and security issues. Also, the rfid tags determine the shelf life expiry of every item which will eventually help you decide which items to send out and which ones to save for later. These decisions help you prevent the losses that occur due to supply-demand gaps and bottlenecks.

4. Pick the best yard management software from companies that provide good access control options

Good yard management companies provide solutions that can boost productivity by avoiding paperwork and making it easier to share data. Yard managers collaborate with carriers and give them visibility access in their YMS to receive real-time notifications.

Also, the tracking devices are built to work consistently even with low Internet connectivity. This is to ensure that the updates are never lost even when the connection is poor. Enterprise yard solutions provide insight to the location and movement of trailers across all (centralized and distributed) the yards. These help enterprises tackle more challenges like fleet integration and for-hire transport operations.